Menu

LIK Carnage

Lik (Swedish word for ‘’corpse’’) is the latest signing in Metal Blade’s rich history of bringing the finest of death metal unto the masses and when you just take a glance at album title and cover you will know what to expect right away… That is right, no fancy gimmick or progressive tendencies to be found anywhere near on Carnage – just traditional buzz saw Swedeath just the way hordes like it, and thanks Satan for that! For those unaware, it should be said that Lik hails from Stockholm which alone should tell you more than enough about their sound, they have released their debut Mass Funeral Evocation in 2015 and Carnage is their first offering for their new label, almighty Metal Blade. From the get go of the opening track To Kill well trained ears will know what is the main source of inspiration for this trio: still sadly missed Dismember made its mark on souls of Lik without a doubt as their sickening spirit breathes all the way through Carnage. Maybe some of you will write off Lik as mere rip offs or band which has absolutely nothing to add to bludgeoning death metal scene; it is true that Carnage will not reinvent the wheel in any possible way but truth be told, do we really need that every time we hear the new album, is it really possible at this point anyway? After all, Dismember are long gone and it is not like we are going to get a bunch of new stuff from them in the future so it is great to have bands like Lik to keep that flame burning. And Lik are more than capable to do this since they primarily know how to write good and catchy songs in true Swedeath filthy vein, with some sprinkles of melodic guitar work here and there to sweeten the deal but the final result is traditional old school death metal of great quality. Carnage clocks in around 37 minutes so the album just flies by and does not have the chance to bore you, which is another plus in my book. All in all, just when you think that it is useless to have all those retro sounding death metal bands release like Carnage comes and shows you that everything you need to have is good music and everything else will have a point…